Weiss Becoming an Old Hand in Tournament

It wasn’t so long ago that Nicholas Weiss of Calabasas was a struggling young tennis player, trying to make the jump to bigger, stronger, “older” competition.

Now he is the competition.

Today, Weiss will face top-seeded Tres Davis of Lubbock, Texas, considered the No. 1 player in the nation in the boys’ 14-and-under division, in the semifinals of the Easter Bowl National Junior Championships at the Riviera Resort & Country Club.

Weiss, seeded third, will play the biggest match of his young career in a national invitational event that calls itself the U.S. Open of junior tennis.

“It’s pretty big, because the Easter Bowl is the biggest tourney I’ve ever played other than nationals,” Weiss said. “It’s huge. If I win this, I think I’ll have a real good chance of winning this tournament.”

Weiss, 14, defeated Amit Taggar of Martinez, Ga., 6-3, 6-3, Wednesday, capturing his fourth consecutive match in straight sets. He has not lost more than three games in any set during the tournament.

Davis defeated Ryan Redondo of Rancho Palos Verdes, 7-5, 6-2, to set up today’s showdown with Weiss.

Two years ago, Weiss made the jump to boys’ 14s. He took his lumps, finishing the year ranked 22nd in Southern California.

“I would get to the round of 32 or 16, but it’s nothing like being on the top,” he said. “This year, I’m playing to win. There’s so much more pressure, but I like it.”

In other matches, twins Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo, members of the U.S. Junior National team, advanced to the quarterfinals of boys’ 18 singles.

Mike Bryan, seeded third, eliminated Michael Lang of Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 6-2, to set up a match today against sixth-seeded Kevin Kim of Fullerton, also a member of the junior national team.

Bob Bryan, a 1995 semifinalist who is seeded fourth, defeated Rafael De Mesa of Key Biscayne, Fla., 6-1, 6-1. He will play today against seventh-seeded Nick Crowell of Amarillo, Texas.

Fifth-seeded Erin Boisclair of Agoura Hills defeated Rebekah Forney of New Braunfels, Texas, 6-4, 6-1, and today faces Mary Carlisle White of Spartanburg, S.C., in the quarterfinals of girls’ 18 singles.

Unseeded Brandis Braverman of Encino lost to fourth-seeded Jessica Lehnhoff of Cooper City, Fla., 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7).